Princess Nonomi by Micheal Grin

No one can accuse Princess Nonomi of being down on herself. On the contrary, she sees herself as ‘twenty-first century royalty,’ and pursues her cruel, violent, and sexual desires with fiery disregard to the consequences, both for herself and others. As the narrative flashes between past and present–and between reality and fantasy–the pitch black driving force behind her drives and her snarling view of the world becomes starkly clear.

Micheal Grin’s first novel took me some getting used to–the whipsawing between past and present and real and unreal lost me a few times–but as the book progressed I realized how well it was suited for putting me behind Nonomi’s eyes, and as more of her twisted, scarred psyche was laid bare, the more I was drawn in. I was hooked well before the end, and recommend it to horror lovers with both strong stomachs and willingness to take a perverse, haunting, tragic, and unhinged ride through some very dark mental country.